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$xhtml = array(
	'<{title}>' => 'Student Success',
	'<{subtitle}>' => 'Written in <span title="Online Education Strategies">UNIV 1001</span> of <a href="http://www.uopeople.edu/">University of the People</a>, finalised on 2016-09-28',
	'<{copyright year}>' => '2016',
	'takedown' => '2017-11-01',
	'<{body}>' => <<<END
<p>
	An intrinsically-motivated learner is one that chooses to learn not because of the outcome of learning, but out of an earnest interest in the subject matter (Ryan &amp; Deci, 2000).
	It&apos;s preferable to be an intrinsically-motivated learner, as it turns the burden of learning into the joy of learning.
	When intrinsically motivated, one performs the task for their own pleasure.
	However, but it&apos;s not always possible to be intrinsically motivated.
	Everybody has different interests.
	We can expand our interests to an extent, but there are some topics in which each person will never be honestly interested in.
	For example, I myself am very intrinsically motivated when it comes to learning about science and computers.
	I can make myself become intrinsically motivated when it comes to writing.
	However, I will never be intrinsically motivated when it comes to memorizing names and dates because I care more about what happened and why than I do when it happened and who was there, which makes most history courses very difficult for me.
	I can work to become more motivated in learning history, but all such motivation will be extrinsic.
</p>
<p>
	While we can&apos;t always choose to be an intrinsically-motivated learner, we *can* always choose to be a self-directed learner.
	A self-directed learner takes learning into their own hands.
	They treat problems as challenges to be overcome, not obstacles to work around.
	They accept responsibility for their own learning and exercise discipline.
	They move at a workable yet decent pace and manage their time well.
	They set up a plan, then work their way towards their learning goals.
	They love to learn and are constantly trying to satisfy their own curiosity.
	Such a learner understands the importance of studying, the value of working independently, and the need for persistence.
	(Cobb, 2013)
</p>
<p>
	Active learning, like self-directed learning, is something that anyone can choose to engage in.
	An active learner actively listens.
	They pay attention to what is said and try to understand what it means.
	They pay attention to visual aids such as graphs, charts, and diagrams in order to make the most of the information presented to them.
	They make use of new and engaging information formats, such as LibreOffice Impress presentations and other types of demonstrations.
	An active learner may try to visit locations related to the topic at hand.
	When doing so, one may need to make an appointment beforehand by contacting the people there by email or another method.
	In addition to seeking out learning material, an active learner might create material based on what they&apos;re learning.
	Such materials could include speeches, presentations, websites, and newsletters, among other options.
	Such creation allows one to crystallize and internalize their understanding of the subject matter.
	All of this also allows one to repeatedly review the knowledge, and thus better remember it later.
	(Study Guides and Strategies, n.d.)
</p>
<p>
	My two biggest weaknesses in being a self-motivated and engaged student are that I&apos;m busy and that I don&apos;t use time effectively while waiting for something.
	Sometimes, I have pressing things to do that eat up all my time and can&apos;t be avoided.
	For example, there was a stretch of time in which I had a three and a half hour commute each to and from work, where I had an eight-hour shift.
	Because I try to sleep for eight hours, that left me only one hour for non-job-related activities, which was often partially taken up because I didn&apos;t get off work on time.
	At the moment, I&apos;m not working, but I am preparing to move to a new city while also trying to do well in school.
	When my schedule isn&apos;t so extreme though, I often spend hours each day working on unnecessary side projects that are of interest to me, such as my onion space Web spider.
	There are only so many hours in the day, and projects such as these, while quite educational, take up valuable time that could be spent studying my actual course material.
	As for time use while waiting, I tend to be unable to focus on other things when I&apos;m waiting for something.
	I should be able to work on, for example, schoolwork while I&apos;m waiting for other processes that I can&apos;t speed up to complete, but instead, I keep going back and checking on the process too often to get anything else done.
	For example, such a process could be the running of the &quot;rsync&quot; command to update my website after a small source code change that makes a difference to every page, or it could be something simpler, such as the baking of potatoes in the oven.
</p>
<p>I do have certain strengths in self-motivation though.
	My main strength is probably my curiosity.
	There are few subjects in which I&apos;m not interested in on at least some level, and I leverage that to make the most out of intrinsic motivation.
	Secondly, I don&apos;t like to admit defeat.
	Failure is not an option when it is at all avoidable.
	Honestly, I&apos;m not very competitive, so I don&apos;t mind losing to other people.
	After all, someone has to lose, right? However, when it comes to tasks in which my own success does not require the failure of others, such as is very much the case with schoolwork, I am highly motivated to ensure my own success.
</p>
<p>
	My strategies for personal academic growth are to complete my schoolwork as early as possible, set up weekly checklists of what I need to get done, work on prioritizing better, get better study tools, and find a non-distracting place to work.
	Getting my schoolwork done right away isn&apos;t something that I&apos;m very good at yet.
	I&apos;ve been in school four weeks now, and already, I&apos;ve had to get my work completed at the last minute during two of those weeks.
	By getting my work done sooner, I can have more time to look over it and improve it before I turn it in.
	Setting up weekly checklists should help me keep my mind on the tasks at hand.
	However, as I found out last time that I set up a checklist, I can&apos;t bind it to a particular schedule.
	In other words, I can&apos;t have a &quot;Thursday checklist&quot;, a &quot;Friday checklist&quot;, and so on.
	I need to keep that flexible, as it&apos;s often easier to squeeze tasks in in an unplanned order.
	I can&apos;t know what I&apos;ll have time for on what days, and I need to keep my options and mind open.
	Work prioritization has been an issue for me, and I&apos;ve been sometimes working on less important side projects.
	Schoolwork needs to, in most cases, come first.
	There is a difference between importance and urgency tough, so urgent tasks may still need to be completed before schoolwork.
	I need tools that facilitate studying better.
	During the past couple weeks, I&apos;ve had large reading assignments in my other University of the People course.
	Reading on my laptop isn&apos;t all that comfortable, so I get a bit distracted and it takes longer to get through long articles than it should.
	A desktop machine would probably be even worse for long reading assignments, but perhaps getting a tablet would aid in keeping me on task.
	The tablet would also allow me to read on the go, making use of spare scraps of time while I&apos;m out, or even on my break at work once I find a job.
	Lastly, I need a place to study.
	Home can be very distracting, which slows down my productivity.
	I&apos;m in the process of moving to a new house, but once I get to the new place, one of my first tasks should be to track down a quiet library with Internet access.
</p>
<p>
	Both evaluating my own personal growth and keeping myself accountable will be easy with the help of my public journal at <a href="https://y.st./en/weblog/"><code>https://y.st./en/weblog/</code></a>.
	My journal keeps me accountable because I know that anything that I do will be public knowledge.
	I operate out in the open with full transparency.
	In the past, my journal has been a big motivator for me as well.
	I often do things differently because I know that I&apos;ll have to write about what I did later.
	If I slack off, I have to admit it, which I have done before.
	Likewise, my journal will help me evaluate my growth.
	I can look back and see exactly how I was doing in the past and compare that to how I&apos;m doing now.
</p>
<div class="APA_references">
	<h2>References:</h2>
	<p>
		Cobb, J. (2013, October 8). Self Directed Learning: 15 Ways of the Successful Self-Directed Learner. Retrieved from <a href="http://www.missiontolearn.com./self-directed-learning-success/"><code>http://www.missiontolearn.com./self-directed-learning-success/</code></a>
	</p>
	<p>
		Ryan, R. M., &amp; Deci, E. L. (2000). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Definitions and New Directions - Ryan,+Deci+00.pdf. Retrieved from <a href="https://mmrg.pbworks.com./f/Ryan,+Deci+00.pdf"><code>https://mmrg.pbworks.com./f/Ryan,+Deci+00.pdf</code></a>
	</p>
	<p>
		Study Guides and Strategies. (n.d.). Attention Required! | CloudFlare. Retrieved from <a href="http://www.studygs.net/activelearn.htm"><code>http://www.studygs.net/activelearn.htm</code></a>
	</p>
</div>
END
);
